Ladypont

Thank you in advance for any advise that will help us!
We are travelling from Australia next week and want to do the road trip from LA - Utah taking in all the best national parks. We will be hiring a car for approx. 2 weeks. Do not want to back track so any suggestions on getting back to LA via a scenic drive also. How many days are enough in the top 5 parks? I understand it will be cold but will it be snowing? We wont be too rushed so just after the best options.

Dayle

Oh boy Lady pont,

Why have you not planned more in advance? Coming all the way from Oz and no reservations or study of guidebooks?

First, get on the internet IMMEDIATELY and see if you can even get lodging. The national parks are extremely popular, even in March and most people book their lodging up to a year in advance. Lodging is limited!! Also, you are trying to do this during the US spring break time for many colleges. This means crowds, especially since we are having some lovely early spring weather, at the moment. Snow is melting rapidly.

For Zion, look for lodging in Springdale, UT. Call directly and hope to snag a cancellation. For Bryce, try Ruby's or the Grand Best Western. It will be much colder at Bryce due to higher altitude and there should still be snow, although melting.

Exactly which other parks are you hoping to visit?

You will do much better if you fly from LA to either Las Vegas or Salt Lake City and rent your car there. Huge savings on time.
Its a long boring drive from LA to southern Utah.

Ladypont

Hi Dale,

Yes we know its very last minute. We are looking for the highlights?
I will checkout accommodation now! We were told it would be quite due to cold weather but obviously not. Which other parks would you recommend?We have driven from Yosemite to Vegas before and know it is boring but it is only about 4 hours. Thought it is more cost effective.

Dayle

You will not be able to see the highlights if you have no place to stay. Most of the national parks are not near major cities. Even Zion, which is close to St. george, has limited lodging. Thats because St. george itself is a major warm weather destination for northen Utahns on spring and Easter vacations so it fills up too.

Have you checked drive times? From LAX to Zion will be a minimum of 8 hours driving. That is with no traffic. You must time your drive out of LA to avoid weekend traffic leaving town and to avoid rush hours, which is a large part of the day.

Moab, where Arches and Canyonlands parks are, will be full for the Easter week Jeep Safari. Thousands of off roaders fill the town for about 10 days......

Dayle

Unfortunately, due to booking at the last minute, any cost savings you thought you would have will be eliminated. I really hope you can find places to stay.

emalloy

To answer your question, between LA and Vegas, stop in Death Valley. Try to get lodging in the park.

Head up to Zion for a couple of nights, lodging in the park or in Springdale.

Next Bryce, lodging in the park or just outside at Ruby's or Best Western.

Then take rt 12 to 24 to Capitol Reef, look for lodging in Torrey.

Finally take 24 to I-70 to 191south to Moab for Arches and Canyonlands.

The following might be helpful in any case. If you can't find lodging in/near parks, look in Hurricane for Zion, Panguich,Kanab or Tropic for Bryce. Look in Boulder or Escalante between Bryce and Capitol Reef. Look in Green River (on rt 70)between Capitol Reef and Moab.

We've stayed in Kanab on the way to Bryce and it was an interesting place to stop. We've also stayed in Green River when visiting Moab, this was about an hour ride to Arches and Canyonlands.

Best of luck.

tomfuller

There may be a lot of holdover snow but the active snowstorms should be over in southern Utah.
As soon as you can after getting off the plane at LAX, fly to either Las Vegas or SLC. Compared with "The Big 5" in Utah, Death Valley is probably not worth it.
Right now there is a "super bloom" of wildflowers in Death Valley but it may be over by the time you get there.
Car rentals are cheaper out of Las Vegas than anywhere in California and you don't really want to drive across the Mojave Desert if you don't have to.
We stayed at the Robbers Roost Motel in Green River while visiting several of the parks. It was OK and a little cheaper than what we could find in Moab.

RVvagabond

Suggest going to Amazon.com and download some e-book to study on the airplane.
Search: Books > Kindle > Zion to Bryce or another search for Escalante if you want to visit the Grand Staircase National Monument

At the bottom of the screen you can search for more options 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
Amazon offers a free APP download to a smart phone or computer.

Vaga

Ladypont

Would it be reasonable to base ourselves in a hotel in the middle of Zion, Bryce & capitol reek rather than different accommodations?

DebbieDoesDulles

What time do you arrive LAX, 6:30am like most Aussies? Will you be able to drive after that long flight? And 8:30am is not exactly a great time to be driving across the city of Los Angeles so wait until 9:30am at least. How many hours do you think you can drive that first morning?

Bumbleberry Inn in Springdale for Zion.
Boulder View Inn in Torrey for Capitol Reef.
Best Western Ruby's or the Grand Staircase Inn near Bryce.

DebbieDoesDulles

Weather looks like 16C days and 2C nights with lots of clouds, maybe some rain week one. Hopefully warmer week 2.

If you want to eliminate backtracking, visit Grand Canyon and Sedona last, then drop the car in Phoenix or Tucson and fly back to Los Angeles. You can get $89 flights if you book now.

Have you priced the car hire yet?

emalloy

Look at this map with chart of time/distance in this area.

http://ohiohickstraveltips.weebly.co...-utah-map.html

You can see that it would be hard to find a place with lodging that will be good for lodging for Zion, Bryce and Capitol reef, unless you plan to drive for an hour and a half each way every day. Since there is a tunnel on the east side of Zion that has times when traffic goes one way to accommodate the campers, it can take considerably longer in some cases.

Just a bit of advice about packing/unpacking keep it to a minimum. Get a plastic bag to put your soiled clothes (the ones you won't wear again until they are washed)in every night. Take out your toiletries, your nightclothes and the clothes you plan to wear the next day, leave everything else in the suitcase, fold and repack any clothes that can go another day, then put the bag of dirties in before you go to bed. In the morning repack the toiletries and night clothes and check out.

After having my major bag of clothes lost for a couple of days on a trip to Hawaii, I now pack half my clothes and half DH's in each of two bags. By the middle of the trip I reorganize the bags and have one bag of dirty clothes, shoes etc. and one that has clothes we'll be wearing.

Ladypont

Thank you all for your tips! I was a bit concerned by Dales comments re: accommodation but have found it no problem and have booked some amazing rustic hotels for reasonable prices.
Our first experience in this area so can't wait to let you all know how it goes - heading to Jackson/Yellowstone then flying back to LA from Denver - too easy......

DebbieDoesDulles

Dropping a car that far away from your pickup point can be prohibitively expensive. Alamo and Avis will probably have your best rates with an Aussie license. Make certain that your rate quote includes Collision Insurance and Extended Liability, and the "drop in Denver" fee. Reserve the car in advance, if you wait until you arrive in Los Angeles the rate will triple.

Ladypont

Thanks Debbie,
Decided to fly to Vegas as hire cars are much cheaper from there!

Dayle

Ladypont,

This is such good news that you found hotels along your route that you are comfortable with. I live in Utah and find short notice hotel rooms very hard to find near the parks. Since there are often travelers who want to do impromptu visits, maybe you can let everyone know where you ended up booking. It will be valuable info for others!

Flying to LV, picking up your car there, and flying back from Denver to LAX is a good choice. You will be able to use your 2 weeks in the best way.

With the additional destination of Yellowstone, Tetons, and Mt. Rushmore, be sure to take all varieties of clothing layers. You will have everything from tee shirt weather to likely snow and wind.

Have fun!